"Kung Fu is the fusion of many martial arts; it's up to you whether you want to focus only on Karate or other disciplines that will be taught here." Said Mr. Kim as he looked at the students who remained in the vicinity.
"I've never heard of that; I guess it's something incredible..."
"Well, now the test will begin to see if you can withstand these workouts and determine at what level you are before I personally start teaching you."
Just as everyone was pondering Mr. Kim's words, the back door opened, and Dash, along with Devon, entered after a short warm-up routine.
"Are you done?" Mr. Kim asked with a glance at the new students.
"Yes, Mr. Kim!"
"Then teach your new classmates about the Dojo. Before they even think about joining this place, they must learn a bit about how it works."
Dojos or training sites have a specific function: to train those who visit frequently, and each place operates differently.
In a Dojo, there were many norms and rules that a new student is unaware of, so it's prudent to teach them even before officially joining this place.
"Am I in charge, or are you doing it?" Dash asked Devon, who was at his side.
"You're good at talking to people; I'll let you do the honors." Devon didn't want to pay attention to the students who might not end up being part of this place.
Dash nodded and stepped forward to the young people, saying, "My name is Dash Hale, and all of you are in Sakura Bushido. It may sound like something you already know, but I would like you to be aware of what it means to be part of this place that I, Devon, and our mentor dedicate time to."
"For now, the essential thing you need to know is that in the Joseki, which is the right side of this large space, sit the students with higher rank or experience, while the Shimoseki is the left side where those with less rank or experience sit."
After saying this, Dash was brief and concluded, "As for the division you will train in, I assume it will be Karate. That's why this place is focused on that. If it helps, the opposite side of where the instructors sit is where the students will sit according to the belt they wear around their waists when they get their uniform."
When Dash finished explaining all this, Mr. Kim, who didn't want to waste any more time, nodded and said, "You start with your routines; I'll take care of training these students. We'll see tomorrow if they show up."
After he spoke, he pointed to the training machines, and everyone wearing exercise-appropriate clothing nervously stood up.
"Does anyone have any other questions they want to openly express?"
In the Dojo, no one asked another question, so Mr. Kim began the training routine.
After Mr. Kim finished speaking, Dash walked to the training machines to measure his strikes.
In less than ten minutes, the excited young people who had entered were sweating after just doing warm-up exercises. Nevertheless, none wanted to stop, and only after another five minutes, everyone had finished the exercises.
"This is insane; we'll end up dead before the day is over..." muttered the boy who only wanted to know the internet quality but ended up being part of this training.
"My name is Matteo; my mother wanted me to be part of piano classes, but I'd prefer to cut off a finger than endure those strict classes where all I would do is learn to play..." Matteo wiped the sweat from his forehead as he said that.
"Well, you can call me Adam, and no, we won't be friends if either of us quits this place," said Adam, who, after catching his breath, looked into the distance as Dash and Devon kept hitting the training dummies.
"How long will it take for us to be like them?"
"I don't know, but what they teach in this place looks promising..." Adam was convinced of the quality of this site, and as for money, that wouldn't be any kind of problem, as, to be honest, it wasn't anything elevated.
For many, it might be complicated, but there are certainly people who don't have to think about how much they will spend each day since the wealth they enjoy has had no limits from an early age.
After finishing that training, Mr. Kim began showing them stances and guards, and that's where their training stopped. There were too many things they had to learn, but if they are here tomorrow, that means within a week they might still be part of Sakura Bushido.
"It seems there are only fifteen, what do you think?" Dash asked as he wiped the sweat with a white towel.
"Half of them will drop out; not everyone is prepared and willing to give up video games like you did," Devon said, having been clear about this when she initiated the opening of this place.
Dash said nothing as he thought similarly to her. In normal situations, not many are willing to endure physical suffering unless they genuinely love something.
For Dash, it was different because he had always been hungry to be strong. The need to sweat to continually improve and stop being weak was something that consumed his mind every day in that hospital.
Train, sweat, sleep, and train again were the only things he had been doing before the Karate tournament. Now his routine was calmer; he spent time outside the Dojo with Devon since he also wanted to experience other things besides training.
As for Devon, she is a special girl as she had become interested in martial arts, and everything she had achieved was not due to a small interest. She had trained as much as Dash, so her merit was equally significant, even greater than his.
If he hadn't been sick, if he hadn't envied everyone with a healthy body, maybe Dash wouldn't be living his life this way. But there was no such thought, only admiration for his friend's strength.
While Dash was thinking about all this, his own fighting style was slowly changing. He had been following the Northern Dragon Kung Fu routine, but he wanted to go beyond those defensive movements.
Throughout this time, he had focused on quick attacks using his flexibility and small body. But now he knew he would be facing powerful students who were no joke, so he had to evolve his Kung Fu drastically to aspire to be a winner.
At this point, Dash wanted to win everything fairly. In this life he had to live, even if it's in a familiar world, he has to strive hard to achieve something like others, so he would fight fairly for the things he wanted to achieve in this life.